An entry in the Prescriptions column on Aug. 22 about an appearance on the ''Daily Show'' by the former New York lieutenant governor Betsy McCaughey misstated her political affiliation. Ms. McCaughey has been a registered Democrat since September ...

To the Editor: Re ''To Catch a Deadly Germ,'' by Betsy McCaughey (Op-Ed, Nov. 14): The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidance does recommend screening for M.R.S.A. (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) as part of an ...

To the Editor: Nicholas D. Kristof blames the shortcomings of our health system for our high infant mortality rate (column, Jan. 12). Regrettably, the high infant mortality reflects a society where young girls and women take drugs while pregnan...

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BY their own admission, both are political mavericks. He, a longtime Westchester Democrat known for breaking the rules, won his first elected office as a County Legislator and became Supervisor of Greenburgh seven years ago. She, the Lieutenant Governor of New York and a former Republican, was the protegee of Gov. George E. Pataki before changing parties and seeking to unseat her mentor. As is often said, politics makes strange bedfellows, and the apparently unlikely pairing on the campaign trail this summer of Supervisor Paul J. Feiner, 42, a candidate for Congress in the 20th District -- which includes parts of Westchester, Rockland, Orange and Sullivan Counties -- and Lieut. Gov. Betsy McCaughey Ross, 49, a gubernatorial candidate, has looked to most observers like an example of that old saw. They endorsed each other at a news conference in Greenburgh earlier this summer and have appeared together before voters at supermarkets and train stations on many occasions in the last several months.

After saying earlier that she might run in the Republican primary next year to keep her job, despite Gov. George E. Pataki's efforts to be rid of her, Lieut. Gov. Betsy McCaughey Ross said today that she probably would not make such a run. Ms. McCaughey Ross said in an interview that she was more likely to run for a legislative position, either the State Legislature or Congress, and that she expected to make a decision by late summer or early fall.

Three years after choosing a running mate who confounded even her allies with unpredictable actions and who refused to play the quiet, pliant second, Gov. George E. Pataki said today that Lieut. Gov. Betsy McCaughey Ross would be dropped from the Republican ticket when he runs for re-election next year. In a letter to Ms. McCaughey Ross, Mr. Pataki said he could no longer work with a Lieutenant Governor who did not share his philosophy, and he made it clear that he considered her a disruptive force in his administration.

FOR a time it seemed that things had settled down into a routine state of surrealism. But that was before Lieut. Gov. Betsy McCaughey Ross got her second wind. Over the last several weeks, Ms. McCaughey Ross has been racing round New York State giving speeches, holding hearings, tossing off op-ed pieces and generally collaring anyone who will listen to her. She is, after having been politically sidelined -- some would say K.O.'d -- clearly back in the game.

To the Editor: As an Oct. 14 news article reports, more New York children will need publicly financed day care as their mothers move from welfare to work. You suggest that I disagree with Gov. George E. Pataki's estimates on Federal funds for day care. That is not the case. Instead of providing custodial ''informal'' care, New York should invest funds in educational day care.